I highly recommand to watch it if you're interested in how a nation is built.
That includes of course interest about France history, and should be watched if you're French.
I do seriously hope that such high quality materials is used at school!
This documentary tells France history from 1870 to now, through its migrants in four episodes-chapters :
1- The building of a nation
That episode shows how France government, after 1870 defeat against Germany, decided that a shared foundation was necessary to make every inhabitant in France a French (and not anymore a person that belongs to its vicinity, speaking its dialect). Migrants were included as focus was to grow in numbers. World War I and the reconstruction it followed were proofs of the success it had.
Fascinating, I'd like to see the similar history on how other old nations like UK, Germany were building their nationality and citizens and know if this was also built at the same period.
2- Difficult times.
This episode covers extremely different periods, with totally opposite attitude towards migrants, with the polar opposite Popular Front and Vichy's government. But harsh times were not limited to Pétain's times, the last governments before the war already created concentration camp for the non-French living in France! - with a 180° approach compared to World War I. Reconstruction time was strangely no better in that regard.
3. Glorious times.
With France still busy with reconstruction, big changes occurs with decolonization and its main act: Algeria war, which creates a huge shift in society. However, next the economy begins skyrocketing (les "30 Glorieuses"), and every worker is needed. Immigration has a boom and a new generation of migrants arrive to work, sometimes 2 or 3 jobs at once.
4. New generation.
New generation of migrants in a new France, embodied by the young Giscard d'Estaing - after De Gaulle and Pompidou. These new migrants arrives in France in order to live and stay there, not only for work. Fraternity was not an empty word in this prosperity period. Thus oil shocks occured and everything changed. Crisis, unemployment. Immigration becomes a process that must be controlled. Same cycle that in the 30's (last big crises) is repeated, and it is 'funny' to consider that after 40 years, no new ideas could be found. None? Mitterrand is elected, embodying this hope of a new world, whatever your origin. But this enchanted episode doesn't last and therefore a migrant has now to "integrate himself" before anything. And whatever it is intended to mean, it is never enough. Immigration and Islam became the hot society topic, 2 worlds being faced up, leading into some riots. If it leads to some changes, bit by bit, maintaining bridges between them, France is still yet to come with a policy capable of merging them.
Finally, with retrospect, it is disturbing to show how identity has become one of the main issues in our world, when it doesnt even make 150 years that being French has a meaning shared within its citizen, and when no period could be referred as a golden age in matter of the such preached integration: it has always be a merge with the population, bringing theirs differences, enriching France as a nation and nurturing its evolution.
